Michael Muller swims with the sharks

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

Sevengill shark, Miller's Point, False Bay, January 2014 – Photographer Michael Muller, best known for his music and film photography, has been photographing sharks for the last 10 years.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

Great white shark, Guadalupe Island, October 2007 – His aim is to raise awareness about the endangerment of shark populations around the world, and erode preconceptions of sharks as dangerous predators.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

A lone female great white shark – "2006 was my first time in the water with great whites -- and any shark for that matter -- and I was at first struck by their utter power and then their grace grew and grew on me," Muller says.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

"They were not the mindless monsters I was programmed to think they were. Instead, I saw before me a very intelligent animal that was very much aware of my presence as I was of its."

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

"The most startling thing was their eyes. From the moment I locked eyes with the sharks, I realized they saw me and I saw them, and there was a connection, so to speak," Muller says.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

"We often see images such as this of their razor sharp teeth and that enormous bite. What people don't see is the bait or fish that this shark is going for," Muller says.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

Isla Mujeres, April 2014 – Plankton on the surface of the Caribbean Sea.

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

Great white shark, Guadalupe Island,October 2015 – "Most of the time the shark is calmly and slowly swimming around investigating its surroundings, and trying to figure out what is food and what is threat."

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

"The majority of time it's swimming with us, we are the threat, so it's very cautious of its approach, even for the fresh tuna we are luring it in with."

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Photos:Michael Muller swims with the sharks

"There is a reason they have out lived almost every creature on this planet since the dinosaurs."